Needle punched material is typically manufactured by passing nonwoven substrate under a needle board which is reciprocated to cause repeated penetrations by the needles resulting in needle punched material, or needlefelt. Needle punched nonwovens have found widespread use in automotive, filtration, padding, as well as technical, medical and paper making felt applications. Another application for needlefelt has been as a form of inexpensive carpet. Repeated efforts have been made to enhance the appearance of needlefelts, through embossing, ribbing or creating relief-like structures, so that the appearance would be suitable for additional markets. The present invention involves utilizing needlefelt as substrate for tufting, and the creation of novel stitch appearance which is made possible due to the thickness of the needlefelt materials.